Adk46

For the past year, I've repeatedly wiped this stuff off and tried to find the source of a coolant leak:



(Not clear from the photo, but the wet areas are at the bottom of the compressor. Other details: AC is converted to R134a, and works for a month or two after a recharge.)

I've never been able to find a trail from above, or any green stuff anywhere else. I've come to the conclusion that it is a leak in the shaft seal of the compressor, which somehow produces green stuff.

Perhaps related is that I sometimes see a small puddle of a clear oily liquid under the compressor, but it is colorless. Doesn't support a theory that the the compressor fluid is full of dye. Can the compressor fluid produce a green corrosion product on the bracket? I'm seriously puzzled.

Thoughts?

TOxicant

Looks like the shaft seal is leaking and at some point dye was added to the system, shine a black light on it, should glow if dye.

joejoe

leaky front seal, check for bubbles in dryer. It will not get better and do not use stop seal. The green is a flourescent dye used to find leaks. An electronic sniffer should scream at you if used.

FredR

Curt,

If your recharge only lasts a couple of months then clearly you have a gas leak. Many folks put a dye in the compressor oil so that when you shine a UV light at it, as it is luminescent, the leak shows up bright and thus helps you identify the source of the leak. The compressor seal is a common leak site, on mine it was the body seals on the compressor.

If you find an oily discharge under the compressor then that is a good sign it could be the seal. That being said your photo shouts "coolant" to me looking more aqueous than oily. What does a sweep with your pinky tell you?

Not convinced the liquid accumulation looks lie a seal leak issue- if I remember correctly when my compressor leaked at the seal face the oil kind of collects on the under body of the compressor [as you might expect under gravity]- not to one side with no obvious tracking path if that is the case the photo suggests..

Whatever the problem it looks a bit grotty down there and time to do something.

Regards

Fred

dr bob

So beyond the concern about the leak, you should also be concerned about the oil loss from the AC system. Before you start using AC again, plan on replacing that front seal, nd putting oil in the compressor. The workshop manual lists the expected 'capacities' of the various major components in the system. Plan on draining the compressor completely while it's out, and adding the correct amount of oil to it when you are ready to reinstall it. And unless you are meticulous in your work and have hermet seals helping keep the lines sealed while the compressor is out, plan on a new drier at the same time. Add back the oil for that too, of course.

Unless you have a nice heated garage to play in, hold off on this work until the weather is warm enough to let you evacuate moisture from the system along with the air. A steam table will tell you the dew point in the system at various pressures (vacuum). The system needs to be maintained at a temp above that dew point for the moisture to boil off and get removed by your vacuum pump.